Emerging from the bathroom, Huo Yin saw Yuan Chu browsing comments on her handheld console. He sat down beside her, offered a casual glance, and remarked neutrally, "What's so interesting about reading those?"
"I actually find it quite interesting." It wasn't the comments themselves she was observing, but the people posting them. Anonymity was a meaningless veil to her, whenever she wished, she could peer straight through to see whether a human or a monster sat on the other side of the network.
Huo Yin hadn't anticipated such a response, rendering his prepared words of comfort suddenly useless. After a brief pause, he let out a soft chuckle, his eyes twinkling subtly as he looked at her.
"We're leaving Strange Stone Canyon tomorrow, so get some rest early." Huo Yin said, straightening the pillow and shaking out the blanket.
"Mm." Yuan Chu put down her handheld console and lay down fully clothed.
With the team expanded, there wasn't enough room for everyone to sleep inside the vehicle. The rest usually pitched tents outside, leaving only Huo Yin and Yuan Chu to occasionally rest in the hover-car.
Although never explicitly stated, everyone tacitly assumed they were a couple. After all, they wore matching clothes every day, used identical toothbrushes, shared the same bedding, and even had nearly identical eating habits. If that wasn't a couple, what was?
Huo Yin naturally lay down beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Yuan Chu never resisted physical closeness from the Child of Luck, though romantic feelings were something she had never considered. Huo Yin was similarly restrained, or rather, effortlessly casual.
Because there was trust, familiarity, and genuine affection, his actions came naturally. Even without loud displays of passion, his quiet, exclusive devotion to her was unmistakable to anyone watching.
To Huo Yin, Yuan Chu was like a safe harbor where he could drop anchor without worry.
Within a few minutes, Huo Yin fell into a deep sleep, his warm, steady breath brushing against Yuan Chu's ear. The narrow bed didn't affect his sleep quality in the slightest.
Around midnight, Yuan Chu suddenly opened her eyes, a radiant gleam flashing in her dark pupils, exceptionally striking in the dim space.
She closed her eyes again a moment later. Simultaneously, Huo Yin sprang up from the bed, rapidly switching on the surveillance monitor and intently scanning the situation outside.
A faint, whirring rustle echoed through the air, one could easily mistake it for the wind if not paying close attention.
Huo Yin stared fixedly at the screen, a growing sense of danger gripping him. After an unknown interval, a speck of bright light appeared in the dark night. It was a colorful butterfly, flapping its wings and scattering shimmering luminescent dust, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Huo Yin's expression shifted slightly: A Space-Rift Butterfly!
One, two, three... Dozens of Space-Rift Butterflies emerged from the tall grass one after another, glowing with brilliant, multicolored hues as they danced through the night sky, creating a breathtakingly gorgeous scene.
However, Huo Yin was in no mood to appreciate it.
Space-Rift Butterflies, also known as Spatial Butterflies, were a type of Spatial-type mutated beast. They moved without a trace, making them extremely difficult to capture. But what truly inspired terror was their ability to open spatial conduits, summoning mutated beasts from other locations directly to them.
Faced with a solitary Space-Rift Butterfly, one might risk a fight. But when confronting a swarm of them, it was best to steer completely clear.
Huo Yin certainly didn't believe this swarm was merely passing throug, they were supposed to be laying eggs deep in the gully, not appearing here.
[Emergency. Prepare for battle.] Huo Yin immediately alerted the others.
Between the members of Huagu and the Evolvers they had rescued, there were about twenty-odd people in total. Offending a swarm of Space-Rift Butterflies with that firepower was already stretching their combat strength thin, to say nothing of staying alert for a potential ambush from Tomb.
Everyone assembled in the open clearing, silently staring up at the swarm of Space-Rift Butterflies, holding their breath in tense anticipation.
Space-Rift Butterflies were exceptionally sensitive to energy fluctuations, at the slightest anomaly, they would either teleport away or warp mutated beasts into the area.
The group didn't dare hope to scare the swarm off, praying only that the creatures would flutter away on their own.
Unluckily, reality proved uncooperative. One of the butterflies suddenly broke away from the main swarm, fluttering straight toward the group's position.
The moment it shifted direction, the rest of the swarm followed suit.
Holy crap!
The group had no choice but to hastily abandon their cover, taking a circuitous route to dodge. Yet that lead butterfly seemed utterly locked onto them, trailing closely behind. Though they didn't fly particularly fast, they possessed teleportation!
Such a broken skill made them an absolute nightmare in a game of hide-and-seek.
Finally, an Evolver lost his composure and launched an attack at a butterfly that had suddenly portaled right in front of him.
With a flash of light, both the Evolver and the Space-Rift Butterfly vanished on the spot, reappearing several hundred meters away, right alongside a massive, muscular mutated beast.
Encounter on a narrow path: Battle erupted.
The previously peaceful butterflies flapped their wings frantically, tearing open spatial channels as mutated beasts emerged one after another, surrounding the group on all sides.
Several Evolvers attempted to break out, only to be warped right back to their starting positions a second later. The Space-Rift Butterflies had locked everyone within a five-hundred-meter perimeter.
"Screw it, let me at 'em!" Since escape was off the table, fighting was the only option left.
Whistle cowered beside the car, taking advantage of the chaos to launch his live stream: "Folks! As you can see, we've unfortunately stumbled into a swarm of Space-Rift Butterflies. The situation is dire! This might be my final stream for you all, so please remember my name, Stream Vanguard, Whistle!"
Just as he finished his announcement, a ferocious beast head materialized right in front of him, snapping its blood-red jaws fiercely in his direction.
"Holy mother of God!" Whistle and the live stream viewers nearly wet themselves in terror.
While the rest were locked in a chaotic melee with the mutated beasts, Yuan Chu remained entirely outside the fray.
Scanning the field, she identified eight distinct attributes among the mutated beasts, numbering around thirty in total.
"Don't panic! Their tiers aren't that high, the strongest ones are only Tier 6 or 7!" An Evolver shouted to rally morale.
Yet no sooner had his words landed than space twisted violently. A hideous, spike-covered beast standing tens of meters tall materialized, exuding a crushing aura of pressure that turned everyone pale.
The golden markings etched across its forehead revealed its terrifying identity: a Tier 10 Kui-Rhino.
The moment this creature appeared, not only did the group on the ground freeze in horror, but the live stream chat erupted into complete pandemonium.
💬 Holy shit, a Kui-Rhino! An absolute overlord of the Enhancement type!
💬 Invulnerable to blades, immune to fire and water, completely immune to spiritual attacks, a total invincible meat shield.
💬 How are they supposed to fight that?!!
💬 I can hardly bear to watch them get slaughtered...
The highest-ranked individual among the group was only Tier 8. While a three-tier gap wasn't entirely insurmountable under normal circumstances, an Enhancement-type Kui-Rhino offered literally no weak points to strike.
"Find a way to break through!" Huo Yin had no intention of fighting head-on, saving their strength against a potential surprise attack was paramount. Yet breaking out proved impossible, the Space-Rift Butterflies controlled the battlefield, strictly confining their range of movement.
Logically, low-intelligence creatures like Space-Rift Butterflies shouldn't have been capable of organizing a coordinated battle plan. Yet everything, from actively tracking the Evolvers to ringing the combat zone and severing their escape routes, pointed to someone secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Was it that Puppet Master from Tomb? Can he refine not just humans, but beasts as well?
Huo Yin pondered as he fought, periodically turning his attention to keep an eye on Yuan Chu.
Yuan Chu stood near the hover-car alongside Su Mo, Tali, Feng Chenxiu, and Jiang Pengfei.
Tali specialized in long-range attacks, while the other three were all support types with virtually no direct combat capability.
"What do we do now? Can Boss and the others hold out?" Feng Chenxiu asked with evident worry.
"It's best if we break out as soon as possible." Su Mo said, frowning.
"In theory, Space-Rift Butterflies can continuously warp in beasts. The longer this drags on, the worse it gets for us."
Jiang Pengfei stood off to the side, trembling like a leaf.
Glancing at the object in Jiang Pengfei's hand, Feng Chenxiu couldn't help asking, "Why are you holding a giant, colorful spinning top?"
Jiang Pengfei: "This is... a rocket launcher..."
Feng Chenxiu fell silent for a moment before dawning with realization: "Ah, I get it! You deliberately designed it like that to throw off the enemy! Man, that's devious of you, bro!"
Jiang Pengfei: ...You're overthinking it, I just like cute, playful designs!
Ignoring their conversation, Tali focused entirely on channeling her Ghost Qi to aid the battle. Her attacks were Spirit-type, capable of inducing terror, hallucinations, and mental breakdown.
Under her assault, several mutated beasts turned on each other in a frenzy, taking a considerable amount of pressure off Huo Yin and the main group. She also attempted to strike at the Space-Rift Butterflies, but the moment she launched an attack, the butterflies sensed it and easily teleported away.
Meanwhile, the Kui-Rhino rampaged through the field, attacking indiscriminately with total impunity thanks to its thick, impenetrable hide. Huo Yin and the others tried their best to avoid confronting it head-on, but its chaotic presence utterly disrupted their combat rhythm.
Just as someone brought a beast down to critical health, the Kui-Rhino would barge in out of nowhere, relentlessly pursuing them.
When a pair managed a synchronized balance of offense and defense, the creature would suddenly crash through, throwing everything into utter chaos.
When an archer landed precision shot after precision shot, the Kui-Rhino would stumble into the line of sight, blocking every angle.
The battlefield was only so large, and a few strides from the beast was enough to cross it end-to-end, leaving its chaotic, erratic shadow everywhere.
It was insanely frustrating!
In the live stream chat:
💬 The situation is dire, but why do I kind of want to laugh...
💬 Congrats to this Kui-Rhino for winning MVP of the match.
💬 Casualties have already started. What are they gonna do now? 💬 Wait, are those Huagu members just watching the show? Why aren't they stepping up to help?
💬 They're all low-tier support types, how are they supposed to help?
💬 Huagu's glaring weakness is completely exposed in this fight.
💬 Sitting back to watch their total wipeout.
As the battle dragged on, fatigue and despair slowly enveloped the group, draining their momentum.
A blood-curdling scream rang out as the first casualty fell.
Morale fractured, spirit sank.
Huo Yin, however, maintained his composure, constantly seeking a countermeasure. Eventually, he locked his gaze onto the Space-Rift Butterflies, if only they could drive them back.
Huo Yin turned to Su Mo: 💭Is there any way to control those Space-Rift Butterflies?
Receiving Huo Yin's thought, Su Mo transmitted back via Telepathy: 💭I'm afraid it's extremely difficult. As long as there are energy fluctuations, they will detect them instantly.
Before he could finish his thought, Su Mo felt a mental domain abruptly expand, enveloping everyone present.
Mind Sharing!
She had stepped in once again!
Su Mo looked toward Yuan Chu in pleasant surprise, suddenly finding his confidence renewed.
Aside from Huo Yin's core group, the other Evolvers experiencing this ability for the first time were utterly stunned, before quickly realizing the sheer power of such a gift.
Blind spots they couldn't see themselves could now be observed through others' eyes, angles they couldn't reach could be targeted with coordinated strikes from teammates, assistance and healing arrived in the exact second they were needed...
Dozens of individuals suddenly functioned like a single, exquisitely calibrated machine, pushing everyone's abilities to their absolute limit.
💭Attack. A cool, composed voice rang out in Tali's mind, locking onto a specific coordinate.
Though there appeared to be nothing in that spot, Tali launched her attack without a shred of hesitation. A split second later, a strange phenomenon occurred: The attack that should have hit empty air struck a Space-Rift Butterfly that had portaled right into its path.
Tali froze in shock.
Was that a coincidence?
Before she could dwell on it, the struck butterfly, seemingly startled, vanished on the spot and fled the battlefield.
Aside from a select few, no one else noticed this subtle detail. However, the dramatic shift in the flow of battle did not escape the watchful eyes of the live stream audience.
💬 What's going on? Why does the vibe feel completely different all of a sudden?
💬 Holy crap, that god-tier support timing was ridiculously precise!
💬 What kind of footwork was that?! Dodged the Kui-Rhino's charge in just two steps!
💬 Did these guys take steroids or something??? How did they suddenly become so fierce?
💬 Aren't they from different teams? How is their coordination this absurdly synchronized?!
💬 Even if they were from the same team, this level of synergy is impossible!
💬 This isn't ordinary teamwork, it's a superpower buff. Definitely some kind of ability at play.
Someone had finally noticed the anomaly.
However, the real shock was yet to come.
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